Biography


Buxton was born 1843 in Northern England, the son of a mill owner who had made his modest riches in the East India Company. Whilst other more wealthy 'nabobs' returning from Company service attracted much envy as they bought up country houses and seats in Parliament, the family lacked sufficient funds to educate the young Buxton in England. In 1853 he was shipped to Dublin in the care of his uncle, who was Member of Parliament for Leinster. 1853 was also the year of Dublin's first great Industrial Exhibition, for at this time Dublin was fast becoming one of the most modern cities in Europe.

Deemed unsuitable for a career in the political arena of Dublin Castle, Buxton joined the Her Majesty's Navy in 1859, the year after the Sepoy Rebellion was crushed. He was posted to China and immediately made a name for himself, commanding a small naval detachment up the Peiho River. After an absence of nine years, mostly spent in the protection of the trade routes around India, he arrived back in Dublin just a few days after the failed Fenian Conspiracy.

Buxton returned to the East Indies after several fruitless years dabbling in provincial politics, this time as Naval Attaché in Singapore. The early lifestyle of the merchant adventurer in the Company's trading posts had by this point given way to a more conventional society, with its clubs, churches and social functions. The accoutrements of civilised life were all imported from England, and many were adapted to suit the new circumstances.

A few years ago, Buxton was appointed Private Secretary to the Viceroy of India and, recently, was made a Companion in The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire.